Once a Soldier by Mary Jo Putney

There were things I really liked about Once Upon a Soldier, such as the older characters. However, this book didn't feel like a romance. It felt like historical fiction, which is fine, but not what I wanted when I reached for this in the mood for a romance. There was so much focus put on the war and politics. I found myself zoning out while reading.

I enjoyed Once a Soldier, in part because I always enjoy Putney’s historical romances for their blend of solid history and unlikely-but-believable stories, and in part because both Will and Athena are so easy to like and connect with. The book feels much like the Lost Lords series in tone, and no wonder: Will Masterton is a Lost Lord.

In fact, he’s Damian Mackenzie’s legitimate half-brother. We met Will earlier in Nowhere Near Respectable. That links the Rogues Redeemed series to the Lost Lords series, and Will and Athena do interact with several of the characters from the Lost Lords books, if only briefly. Ballard, who is mentioned occasionally in the Lost Lords books but rarely seen, is the hero of the secondary romance in Once a Soldier, so Putney gets to marry off the last two school chums in one fell swoop before introducing a new cast characters in the next book. (Don’t worry if you haven’t read the Lost Lords books, though; this one can certainly stand on its own.)

I’ve read several romances recently in which the hero is singularly devoid of flaws, and Once a Soldier fits that mold. Will is honorable, loyal, caring, and remarkably unsexist for a man of the early 19th century. I kept waiting for his flaws to surface, and they never really did. He makes mistakes here and there, but nothing significant within the romantic relationship. Frankly, he doesn’t really fit the “rogues redeemed” idea, for all that he thinks he does. In case you can’t tell, I liked him very much.

Athena has a much less conventional background than Will, and more obvious emotional scars. She’s strong, capable, and confident, except when it comes to romantic relationships. Her influence, intelligence and determination are one of the main reasons San Gabriel has survived the Napoleonic Wars as well as it has. She’s altogether admirable, and I love it that Will is not intimidated or turned off by Athena’s rather unconventional strengths, but appreciates her for who she is.

San Gabriel, the fictional state where the majority of the book takes place, is a delightful miniature country — about the size of Liechtenstein, or even smaller. To be honest, it comes across as overly idealized, almost a fairy-tale country: beautiful and charming, but not quite real. . . rather like the novel itself.

I can’t help feeling a little nostalgic for the emotional depth and richness Putney instilled in Thunder and Roses and her other Fallen Angels books, and some of her other early works. This book, like the Lost Lords series, feels a little lighter, even when the characters are in serious danger. I can’t quite pinpoint the cause, but I find myself missing that sense of vivid realism. Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed Once a Soldier, and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequels!

It seems I had taken a lot of historical romance stories and I am not disappointed in any. Every book had a decent storyline with a dash of romance to keep it going. Who can say no for any regency romance?

DNF at 25%. I'm sorry to say that I completely lost interest in this book just as the romance was kickin off. I enjoyed the start and had high hopes for the rest but like I said, I completely lost interest.

**Review of eARC version from NetGalley**

Very different than most romances I've read. More light-hearted than most. The conflict between the main hero and heroine was less antagonistic toward each other and more about the situation. I enjoyed it well enough, but it seemed a little flat - especially with some of the secondary characters. Still a decent read.

This was the first book I’ve read by Mary Jo Putney, but I went into it knowing she’d written many historical romances so I was hopeful. You generally start on a historical romance “journey” knowing the destination, it’s just a matter of how the characters will get there. This was an enjoyable journey, the main characters were likable and there were sub-plots (including a sub-romance) that kept things interesting. There’s a decidedly “non-historical” element with the introduction of a tiny fictional country, and that’s a bit jarring at first. But I don’t read this type of book as a documentary (although at times I’ll look people and things up to see if they’re historically accurate) so I got past that easily enough.
As I read, I got the feeling that this was an off-shoot of a previous series, and sure enough, I checked and there are characters from the Lost Lords series here. I’d picked up the first book in that series for Kindle a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. It’s now moved way up my TBR list - I look forward to going through those while I wait for the second book in this “Rogues Redeemed” series to come out. (I’m assuming/hoping that the other “rogues” in the beginning of the story will be getting their own books.)

I loved this historical romance between Will and Athena. What a great start to a series! I'm a longtime Mary Jo Putney fan, and this one still wowed me. I loved the storyline, the characters, and the setting. I am looking forward to more in the series!

I really enjoyed this story. It was not your typical storyline for this genre and I enjoyed that very much. I really liked Will and Athena both. Athena was definitely not your typical 'lady' of this time period and that made for many interesting events in the story. Will was her perfect match!

I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series!

I'm not a big fan of HR novels that take place outside of the United Kingdom, but for Mary Jo Putney I'll always make an exeption. I really enjoy her novels, and this one, though not my favorite, is very enjoyable. Not only can you feel the amount of research that has gone into her novels, she always includes an interesting Author's Note at the end.

Both Will and Athena are wonderful characters, he a lord that is finished with war, but willing to take one last stand, especially with his love at his side. And she does, literally. When the French come in to invade, she's right there next to him shooting at them.

Brilliantly written and exciting at moments, I was hard pressed to put it down.

Though I'm a huge lover of historical romances, I felt zero connection between the protagonists. No chemistry. And the story fell flat around it. The elements of a romance that I was looking for simply weren't there and I ended up putting the book down and marking it DNF.